IN THE RANKINGS
Buford High School: No. 3 in the MaxPreps Preseason Top 100
Don Bosco Preparatory School: No. 21 in the MaxPreps Preseason Top 100
Servite High School: No. 27 in the MaxPreps Preseason Top 100
St. Johns Country Day School: No. 99 in the MaxPreps Preseason Top 100
NHSI HISTORY
Buford High School:
Buford is making its first appearance in the NHSI in 2022.
Don Bosco Preparatory School:
Don Bosco is making its first appearance in the NHSI in 2022.
Servite High School:
Servite is making its first appearance in the NHSI in 2022.
St. Johns Country Day School:
St Johns is making its first appearance in the NHSI in 2022.
PROSPECT PROFILES
Coming off a strong 2021 campaign, right-handed pitcher Xavier Cardenas (Servite) began his senior year with four strikeouts over three scoreless frames in Servite’s Loara Tournament championship game win. Cardenas is committed to pitch collegiately at San Diego State.
Brad Hodges (St. Johns Country Day) pitched to a 1.59 ERA in 2021, going 5-4 on the mound for the Spartans. The southpaw made nine starts and struck out 74 batters in 44.0 innings of work. Hodges, a Virginia commit, also batted .333 (24-for-72) with a home run and six doubles while patrolling the outfield last season.
Jarrod Hocking (Servite) has had a hot bat during Servite’s unbeaten start to 2022. The outfielder is batting .636 (7-for-11) on the season, with three of his seven hits going for extra bases. Hocking, who has also swiped four bags through the first five games of the season, is committed to UCLA.
Right-handed pitcher Dylan Lesko (Buford) had a lights-out junior campaign on the mound for the Wolves in 2021. He allowed just three earned runs all season with 112 strikeouts en route to being named 2021 Gatorade Player of the Year. Lesko is committed to play collegiately at Vanderbilt.
Jordan Taylor (St Johns Country Day) was a dynamic bat in the Spartans’ lineup in 2021 as he hit .406 (39-for-96) and slugged five home runs to go along with 25 RBIs. A Florida State commit, Taylor also scored 30 runs and stole 10 bases last season.
USA BASEBALL ALUMNI PROFILES
Riley Stanford (Buford) made his Team USA debut with the 2021 18U National Team. The outfielder and right-handed pitcher made two appearances on the mound in the red, white, and blue’s friendship series against Canada, tossing 3.0 innings and allowing one run while striking out four. At the plate, Stanford picked up two hits and one run scored in four at-bats. The Georgia Tech commit earned his spot on the 18U National Team after playing in the 2021 Prospect Development Pipeline (PDP) League.
MATCHUPS
St. Johns Country Day vs. Servite
Led by ACC commits Brad Hodges and Jordan Taylor, St Johns Country Day finished 2021 as the Florida 2A State runners-up. The Spartans will face a Servite team that is loaded with talent, including a trio of UCLA commits in Jarrod Hocking, Chris Grothues, and Roman Martin. Hodges could get the start against Servite’s Xavier Cardenas in one of several intriguing pitching matchup possibilities in this game.
Buford vs. Don Bosco Prep
This opening round game features a pair of teams boasting powerful arms on the mound. Buford has several options at its disposal, including 2021 Gatorade Player of the Year Dylan Lesko and flamethrower Riley Stanford. Power Five commits Caden Dana and Kevin Jaxel are two of the top arms for Don Bosco, who have the ability to match whichever arm Buford goes with in round one. Buford’s Kaden Martin and Don Bosco’s Pablo Santos are both bats to watch in this matchup.
ROUND 2
The team that advances from this pod will battle the winner from Pod 4, which includes Bishop Verot High School (Bishop Verot, Fla.), Hamilton High School (Chandler, Ariz.), Huntington Beach High School (Huntington Beach, Calif.), and McQuaid Jesuit High School (Rochester, N.Y.).
